Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. Special weekend edition. Is Geronimo Allison falling way too far in drafts? Darwin Thompson evolving into a late-round sleeper. Is Saquon Barkley worthy of the No. 1 pick overall? And more.
Question 1
I’m a big Packers fan stuck in California. I don’t understand the lack of love for Geronimo Allison. I think if healthy he could be a top-20 WR. Tell me why I’m wrong because every site and ADP say I’m wrong. What am I missing?
Tavis Medrano (Arcadia, CA)
I have some interest in Allison. I’ve selected him in a couple of leagues. At one point, he was just outside the top 40 among wide receivers on my board. But I’m not certain that he’ll be better than their other supporting starter, Marquez Valdes-Scantling. And every time I see the Packers in the preseason, Jake Kumerow keeps making impressive catches. I’m also not confident how good the Packers will be; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Aaron Rodgers shred a secondary.
Question 2
Question regarding Darwin Thompson. Hit rate on these guys is super low but he’s looked impressive. Now I’m seeing your report he’s moving ahead of Hyde and I’m getting updates from other fantasy apps that his “stock is rising”. You called Alvin Kamara two years ago and I was thinking this might be a similar situation. Should I be planning on drafting him in an earlier round or budgeting more for Thompson? Or is he a guy you think you’re just happy with if he falls to you?
Adam Bjork (Waunakee, WI)
To set the record straight, I wouldn’t say I “called” Alvin Kamara. I remember him playing a preseason game against the Chargers, exploding for a 50-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game. I remember him looking pretty good in his preseason debut at Cleveland. But I didn’t foresee him putting up top-10 numbers in his first season. I didn’t select Kamara on any of my teams that year. While I could see there was talent, I couldn’t get around him being stuck behind Adrian Peterson and Mark Ingram. I thought that was going to be a three-man backfield, with Kamara not getting enough touches to be much of a fantasy factor. (Nor did I see New Orleans switching to a run-dominant offense for the final two thirds of that season.) With Darwin Thompson, he’s entering a better situation. There’s not as much in front of him. He may have moved ahead of Carlos Hyde already. Damien Williams should be their opening day starter, but he’s relatively unproven. I would expect Thompson should get some change-of-pace work, and Kansas City uses its backs as both runners and pass catchers. But Thompson isn’t a Kamara-type talent. We’re talking about a sixth-round draft choice. He’s a smaller guy (5-8, 200) who played one year at Utah State. The thought of Thompson becoming one of the league’s 20 best running backs hasn’t crossed my mind yet at all. Word is out on him, so I wouldn’t think you’ll be able to get him in the last round anymore – you’ll need to go a few rounds earlier than that. Leagues and formats vary, but in general seems like he should be one of the first 15 backup running backs selected. (Note: all of these answers are being written up on Thursday afternoon, just before the start of the third week of the preseason).
Question 3
I am drafting 4th. Assuming Barkley, McCaffrey, and Kamara are taken 1-3, should I take Zeke with the 4th pick assuming he is still holding out?
John Buchholz (Orlando, FL)
The safe play is to go with somebody else. But I don’t think it would be crazy to select Elliott there. The season is now two weeks away. We’re entering the range where the pressure is increasing to get a deal done. The Cowboys definitely want Elliott on the field, and he doesn’t want to miss any games or paychecks. We had the big exception with LeVeon Bell last year, but typically with these kind of players, they come prior to the first game. I would expect it will be that way for Elliott, and it should also play out that way for Melvin Gordon.
Question 4
I have the #1 pick in my draft. The question is which of Saquon, McCaffrey or Kamara do you choose. You have Saquon ranked first but no way do you choose a RB that most likely will have a crappy offense, be losing quite often and could have a rookie QB half the year. That is not a winning recipe. Kamara has Latavius Murray to worry about stealing touches and TDs. Doesn't that make McCaffrey the clear one to pick? The 2nd half of the year he really was the best RB in fantasy. Thoughts?
CHRISTOPHER TONELLA (Saint Louis, MO)
McCaffrey’s fine. He can be in the discussion. I don’t see him as a knockout-type prospect as a No. 1 pick. He ran for fewer than 60 yards in over half of his games last year. And why are we sticking the Giants down with the likes of Miami and Washington? New York ranked 5th in scoring in the second half of last season. I’m taking Barkley No. 1.
Question 5
I recently made a trade to acquire Melvin Gordon in my Dynasty League. Right now my receivers are Adams, Odell, R.Anderson, Robinson, Pettis and my RBs are Cook, Chubb and Gordon. Assuming Sanders and Montgomery are gone, would you take Ekeler in the 1st or go with Chris Godwin and then hopefully Justin Jackson in the second?
Garrett Seymour (Fitchburg, WI)
I wouldn’t be too worried about Gordon. I expect he’ll be in sooner rather than later. In your draft, I would focus more on the long term. Chris Godwin looks like he’s going to be a really nice player for a lot of years. I think he’s the pick. I would select Godwin before Miles Sanders. David Montgomery looks very good, but I don’t think he’ll be there for your consideration.
Question 6
I'm going with Zeke and James Conner as my keepers. I have the 3rd. Based on the keepers selected, the best players available will be DeAndre Hopkins, David Johnson, Davante Adams, Melvin Gordon, Joe Mixon, Julio Jones. Should I automatically be thinking WR with my 1st pick because it's going to be really difficult to pass up on David Johnson and having 3 elite RB's going into the season? This could also serve as potential insurance for Zeke.
Christopher Pilger (Cranford, NJ)
I would be looking at the wide receivers. Hopkins, Adams or Jones. Hopkins probably will be gone. Jones is getting older and has had a few issues with feet and ankles. I think Adams is the pick.
Question 7
Any late-round sleepers being drafted from the 12th round to 16th round which could be potentially really valuable next year in fantasy? In the realm of Kamara two years ago and Mahomes last year.
Russ Neis (Eagan, MN)
If you’re looking for late-round guys who’ll emerge in 2020, I think you’re looking at all of those receivers selected in the first three rounds of the draft. Deebo Samuel, Parris Campbell, A.J. Brown, Mecole Hardman, Diontae Johnson, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Terry McLaurin. I don’t think any of those guys will make a big impact in 2019, but they’ll all be challenging for larger roles next year.
Question 8
Are you going to have your dynasty rankings in your cheat sheet updates like last year?
GENE MCNABB (Sturgis, SD)
Those dynasty rankings aren’t in the Monday product, but they appear as a stand-alone page every Thursday. Each week on Tues/Wed, I spent considerable time going over the dynasty rankings for QB, RB, WR and TE, ranking the players not on how they’ll do in 2019, but looking more at how they’ll perform in the next few seasons.